County officials reviewed operating funding for a newly created county office during a meeting in which staff described two budget lines referenced in the meeting materials as “1,200” and “1,000.” The discussion focused on items such as office supplies, legal reference materials, potential subscriptions for virtual meetings and occasional court-reporter services; no votes or formal actions were taken.

The issue was introduced by an unidentified official, who said, “as we're going through the budget process, we're not dealing with anything to do with wages today. Wages will be dealt with, tomorrow after we're done.” Jack (no last name provided), head of the new office, told officials that the two lines in the materials represent portions of the first full year of funding: “the 1,200 is going to be the first half of the year, and then when the 1,000 would pick up the second half of the year.”

Why it matters: This is the first budget year for the office, so staff and officials said they must estimate startup costs that could be one-time purchases or recurring subscriptions. Jack described the supplies line as covering routine items such as paper and small office equipment and said the office might not be charged for county bulk paper, creating uncertainty about the final cost. He characterized the supplies figure as a high estimate, saying, “I don't know that it ends up at 5,000.”

Officials discussed legal reference materials and subscriptions. Jack said the office will need treatises and reference manuals beyond the Westlaw package used for legal research, describing those as typically one-time purchases that can range in cost: “I would say, probably minimum, typically, $2.50 to $300, and they they could be $500.” He also said, “Westlaw is the only one I know of,” when asked about subscription services for legal material.

The subject of remote-meeting software came up. An unidentified official asked whether the office should plan for a Zoom subscription. Jack said he had checked with IT and with judges and reported, “I talked to IT, and they said the county does not have a Zoom subscription.” He added that he would work with Jim Smith and the IT department to determine whether the county already has an alternative or whether the office needs a separate subscription.

Jack said the budget includes a line for occasional court-reporter services in case of significant trials, depositions or transcript needs and that some cost estimates were drawn from prior usage in the prosecutor's office: “Some of this was based upon what Brad has used in the past with prosecutor's office.”

Discussion vs. action: The meeting was a review and clarification of estimated line items. Officials asked questions and staff identified follow-up tasks, but there was no motion, vote or formal direction recorded in the transcript. The substantive follow-up items identified in the discussion were: staff to confirm whether countywide subscriptions or alternative platforms are available through IT and to refine cost estimates for supplies, treatises and any outside court-reporting or transcription needs.

The meeting transcript does not specify exact dollar totals for the “1,200” and “1,000” lines beyond the references above, and speakers frequently described amounts as estimates or possible carryovers into future years. The office and county staff indicated that some purchases might be deferred or rolled over to later budgets depending on need and availability of existing county resources.

Looking ahead: Officials indicated wages will be addressed at a subsequent budget session. The transcript records questions and clarifications but no adopted budget decisions in this segment.